Will Young's Timely Return To County Championship Cricket
When Aotearoa rolled through England last winter Will Young was chillin' between big runs and ensuring his comrades were adequately hydrated. Young didn't play in the WTC final against India after showing tremendous signs of development as he scored back to back hundreds for Durham in County Championship cricket and then scored 82 in the second Test vs England as Aotearoa swapped out half their 1st 11.
Like many Blackcaps at the time, Young epitomised Aotearoa's confidence against England. All that's changed since last winter is England sliding further into the abyss of reviews and as their woes escalated, County Championship cricket was put in the spotlight along with all the other things in England's hectic schedule. English folk have wondered the value of County cricket preparing lads for Test cricket, meanwhile County cricket is where Young has churned out mahi to blossom in Test cricket.
Young is now back in England and has just started his first game of the winter, playing for Northamptonshire in County Championship Division Tahi. Papatuanuku and Ranginui provide divine alignment as Young returns to England for County cricket, before the Blackcaps return to England for three Tests in June. All three Tests are part of this WTC cycle and one can dwell on last summer's Test losses, or look at this Test series against England as the perfect dish for swinging back into the WTC mixer.
Matt Henry will link up with Kent later this winter - after the series vs England. This means only a couple lads on the Kiwi County Tour and the lack of numbers is countered by the importance of Young's County cricket stint. Aotearoa will send a stacked Test squad to England and the 1st 11 will feature grizzly Test cricketers, eager to dismantle England again. Young is the weakest link in Aotearoa's batting unit only because of Aotearoa's excellence and Young is the bloke diving into County Championship mahi.
Young also plays the trickiest role in Test cricket. Last winter, Young batted behind Tom Latham and Devon Conway in his lone Test of that tour to England. Then Young embraced the niggliest challenge of opening in India and scored 89 in his first knock of that series which signaled a permanent shift to the opening gig.
The beauty of Blackcaps depth is maturity and when pondering Young's style, maturity popped up as much as soft hands, quick pull shots and solid leaves. Young has been Aotearoa's next batting prodigy since emerging with the Under 19 World Cup team in 2012 and has slowly developed to enter Test cricket with a strong understanding of his game as well as his role. No one is Kane Williamson, Young has soft hands and swiftly swivels on pull shots like Williamson though.
Such skills helped Young register a 50+ score in three consecutive Test series (England, India, Bangladesh). Young's scores of 8, 3 and 0 against South Africa are not the norm, perhaps pointing to the vibe of that series. From the tour of India onwards, Young is third for Blackcaps runs and the only other blokes with 300+ runs are Latham and Conway. Young averaged 30.10 in this period and doesn't have a Test century, although in the last six Tests Young is the only bloke with four 50+ scores.
Aotearoa sport is revolves around values such as knowing your role and putting the team first. Young opens alongside a world-class opener in Latham for example and while we would all love Young to crack that hundy mark, one must also salute Young executing role as a Test opener; see off the new ball, set up the innings for the team and maybe go large.
Young hit his two centuries for Durham as an opener and he is again opening for Northamptonshire this year, before he is likely to open for Aotearoa against England. The one bloke who really needs to play County Championship cricket right now is doing exactly that, now with more Test experience to his name. Don't let all this recent alignment and growth take you away from the foundations though as Young has averaged 40+ in eight of his 11 First Class seasons. Like a hearty Kauri or Pohutukawa, these foundations are well built and Young’s run-scoring roots run deep.
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